Alpine Ski World Championships Open In Austria; Town Invests $541M For Event

Schladming, Austria is playing host to the 42nd Int'l Ski Federation (FIS) Alpine World Ski Championships that started on Monday with a one hour opening ceremony, according to BILD. At 7:36pm local time, FIS President Gian Franco Kasper "declared the world championships are officially opened." A record number of 609 athletes from 69 countries "will compete for medals in 11 different events" until Feb. 17. Schladming, which has a population of 5,000, has invested $400M ($541M) for "the greatest ski party of all time." The little town in the Austrian state of Styria "expects around 400,000 spectators during the championships." German skiers will receive €25,000 ($34,000) for a gold, €15,000 ($20,000) for a silver and €10,000 ($14,000) for a bronze medal. In addition, athletes receive €32,000 ($43,000) from FIS for winning a gold medal (BILD, 2/5).